well, i thought long and hard on wether or not to post in this thread, as you all know I rarely like to discuss such matters...
TT,
Your post about the "Founding fathers roots in christianity" is a very slanted view, I would suggest that you look into several history books and the writings of the framers of the constitution and decide for yourself if they were "orthodox christians" or not... Any article that relys on a conspiracy or "revisionist history" to prove it's allegations should be looked at as highly suspect in origin and intention.
Fact is that many, if not all, of the framers of our constitution were Deist in belief. This is not to say they did not belong to a christian church from a community standpoint.. the times back then were very different. In fact, if you look hard enough you will find examples of religious persecution at that time that would surprise you.
The framers of the constitution had the right idea, that the Government should have no part in promoting one religion over another, or in having a "state sponsored" faith or church.
If you go back and read the constitution, the declaration of independance and the bill of rights, you will find no mention of "Christianity" or "Jesus"... you will find references to the "Creator" (and possibly "God")... But don't take my word for it, go read it. The framer's recognized religion for what it was.
The problem is that we, as americans, have lost our way, we have forgotten the very principles that we were founded upon...
Instead of embracing the differences we have chosen to silence them.
Do these people not realize that by ignoring the differences we only create a hostile society?
There are many stories in the media where certain people seem to be singled out in this... the boy being punished for "praying out loud" for example... is he being punished for the prayer itself or the disruption that he created in the manner of his prayer? You have to be careful in deciding what is actually being punished.
The public school system has a very tough road to follow, in order to be "fair and balanced" they seem to have only 2 choices:
1. Present ALL
2. Present NONE
Since people seem to be more litigous these days, and look at any inclusion or disclusion as favoritism, the school system chooses none as the only logical course...
In the case of the Pledge of allegiance, (some) people that do not believe in any "God" (Atheist) take offense at the words "Under God", and see it as Government promotion of "A God".
In the case of the Ten Commandments, people see that as a Government approval of the Bible, which becomes a defacto of "state sponsorship"...
In neither case are people willing to look beyond the words and back at the "principle" involved.
We live in a country where we demand "freedom of religion" but refuse anyone that may believe differently.
We demand "seperation of church and state" but it's news that the president goes to church, etc...
We have forgotten our way... we need to be reminded that the principals we were founded on are simple:
<b><i><font color=red>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. </font></i></b>
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As to Eisenhower, were you aware that his mother was a devout Jehovah's Witness and that he and his brother were raised in that faith? (They did not adhere to it as strictly as she, but they were raised in it)
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